Shadows of Chaos
by DarknessGothNightPuppyBasket
Summary: A fic. It's hard to summarize, since it's not done and I myself don't know all about where it's going yet. I can, however, summarize the opening bits like so: Princess Sally has a visitor, and Knuckles is acting odd. There. Contains some KnucklesXJulie Su
1. Prologue the First: Dark Visitor

DISCLAIMER: So, yeah, here we go again. Another venture into the Sonicverse. All characters except random ones I might invent during the story are property of Sega. Looks like the Sonicverse is both inspiring me AND letting me come up with actual words to write rather than just story ideas lately. Pretty good for a comic that was until recently written by someone whose writing skills were alternately good and hideous, and is still being meddled with on occasion by the video game company that commissioned it. Also, BE WARNED. I may have to alter things in chapters I've already posted at times, when I realize I've messed up. I will make no warnings or apologies for this. If that involved yanking the whole story, editing and re-posting it, so be it. There is also a possibility, which I will try to avoid, that this will never be finished. I am a CHRONIC non-finisher. Also? My chapter lengths are variable. VERY. Expect a six line chapter followed by a hundred line chapter. It will probably happen. This was intended to be a short story, until I thought of a way to have more fun with it by adding drama to the humour. So I'm not ENTIRELY sure where I'm going with all of this. These caveats in place, lets hope I never mess up and therefore need to edit, and that I manage to keep going without winding up making it lame. Enjoy, and review! 

**Shadows of Chaos **

by DarknessGothNightPuppyBasket

Prologue the First: Dark Visitor

Sally slowly emerged into consciousness to the measured, insistent sound of someone rapping on wood. Knock... knock... knock... knock... knock.

"Hmmwha? Geh? Go'way." she called blearily, glancing at the clock. 2:30. AM!

"Go 'WAY!" she snapped irritably as the knocking continued.

"I'm sorry, Miss Sally, but I can't," came the reply from outside her door, in an almost toneless, measured voice.

"You can! Come tomorrow!" she snapped.

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to - oh, no. NO!" The voice beyond the door suddenly acquired an edge of fear. "AHHHHHH!"

Sally was suddenly wide awake and in a cold sweat, sitting bolt upright. She dashed to her door, not bothering to put on a vest. She flung open the door, and peered into the darkness of the hall, searching for her visitor. She saw nothing until she looked down, seeing the figure huddled on the floor, shaking.

"I - can't - control it." he said. "It's not - ah!"

As her eyes adjusted to the dark of the hall, Sally recognized the figure clutching itself before her.

"Shadow?"

The black and red hedgehog looked up at her, a pleading expression in his normally expressionless or menacing eyes.

He gingerly moved his left hand away from where he had been clutching himself. Sally eyes had to readjust as a green glow struck her vision. A luminescent circle, surrounding an area of blackness... And then she saw what it was.

Shadow's smallest finger on his right hand was gone, but it didn't seem to have been severed. It simply ended at the knuckle, and a circle of green light marked its end. As she watched, the light suddenly intensified, and moved further down his finger... and more of his finger was gone.

"Help. Me," said the hedgehog, shivering with pain. Then he passed out.

And there Sally was, standing in a darkened hallway in the middle of the night, with an experimental bioweapon unconscious on the floor before her. And she didn't know what to do.


	2. Prologue 2nd: Good Morning, Good Morning

Prologue the Second: Good Morning, Good Morning...

Lara-Le approached the door to Knuckles living space with some trepidation. She knew Knuckles generally tried his best not to be cranky with her, but she also knew he would not be pleased with what she had to say. She rapped hesitantly. Knuckles should be just finished his morning workout. He kept to a strict training schedule, something his father had impressed on him from early on. It was ironic that when Knuckles got angry with his father, he tended to go and train hard, something Locke himself had always stressed the importance of. It was like Knuckles' main way of getting back at his father was by showing him exactly what his upbringing had made him.

She snapped out of it, realising she had been lost in thought. Then she realized something else - Knuckles still hadn't answered the door. Beginning to be concerned, she knocked again, more loudly.

"Hey, come on in!" a cheerful voice came from inside.

Lara-Le cocked her head to one side, puzzled. The voice was certainly her son's, but the words - she shrugged and opened the door.

The place wasn't a mess. Knuckles didn't own enough material belongings to make a real mess, even if every one of them was where it shouldn't be. Which very nearly seemed to be the case. The reinforced punching bag was over on its side. Knuckles' starred fedora was hanging from the overhead light. Five of his martial arts competition trophies were stacked in a pyramid in the middle of the floor. And the sheets on the simple cot were in total disarray. A faint hissing sound of rushing water was coming from down the short hall to the bathroom. Lara-Le stared, befuddled, at the state of what qualified in her son's home for chaos. And jumped, as Knuckles bounded out of the kitchenette, enveloping her in a crushing hug.

"Hey, Mom! How's things?" he said, kissing her on the cheek then releasing her.

"Everything's fine, sweetie," she said, hesitantly. _Was it? What was going on?_ "Well, actually, there is one thing."

Knuckles walked over to his cot, collapsing into a sitting position, smiling. "Lay it on me, ma."

Lara-Le was again forced to pause for a moment, to regain her equilibrium. "I wanted to talk to you about the fight you had with your father the other day," she said, closing her eyes against the eruption she knew was coming,

It didn't.

"Sure, ma. What was it you wanted to say?"

Lara-Le was getting thoroughly unnerved now. "Er, well, you know I don't always support his positions. Particularly when it comes to how you should be living your life. But, he really does have your best interests at heart, and I do think he was right in what he was saying this time. I thought - well, I thought it would be best if you - apologized to him," she finished, bracing herself. _Now._

Again, no explosion. Just a continuation of that smile. Which was really starting to creep her out. "Well, I don't remember all the details of that argument, but I'm betting you're right. I'll go and talk to him right after I finish making breakfast for us."

_Breakfast? Knuckles eats breakfast at six AM. It's almost noon. What -_ "That's sweet of you, Knuckles, but I really can't stay -"

"Knuckles? Do you have that breakfast ready?" said a voice from down the hall. The noise of running water, which Lara-Le had tuned out some time ago, stopped. A female echidna emerged from the bathroom, towelling herself off. "Oh, hello, Ma'am!" said Julie-Su cheerfully.

Lara-Le's mind reeled, and then raced. Room in disarray. Hat on chandelier. Sheets in chaos. Having breakfast late. Julie-Su in the bathroom. Knuckles in unprecedented good mood. Ah.

Knuckles' mother was suddenly very, very glad she was covered in red fur. Even so, certain her blush was showing through the paler fur on her muzzle, she backed towards the door, stuttering. "Well, yes, er, good. Um. Glad we had this, talk, really must go, don't forget to speak to your father, er, bye!" And dashed out the door, doing her best not to slam it behind her. She stood in the hallway, her face on fire.

Well, at least she knew why Knuckles was in such a good mood. She wanted her son to be happy, but she was so used to him being taciturn, and, let's face it, rather sulky, that it would be eerie if he was like that all the time. He'd be back to normal soon, and if in the meantime his good mood helped him patch things up with his father, so much the better. Still embarrassed, but in a more positive frame of mind, she headed for home. She wondered if Wynmacher would be up to making _her_ some breakfast. That ordeal had left her hungry.


End file.
